Synergy of feed-side aeration and super slippery interface in membrane distillation for enhanced water flux and scaling mitigation

Membrane distillation (MD) is an acknowledged promising technology for desalinating hypersaline brine, and as such can be a suitable candidate to further concentrate the seawater discharged from reverse osmosis process. Mineral scaling represents a major constraint against the application of MD for further desalination of concentrated seawater, especially when considering CaSO4 (gypsum) and NaCl. Up until now, it has been difficult to rely solely on membrane modification to mitigate CaSO4 scaling. Permeate-side aeration can lessen CaSO4 scaling, but does not permit to increase the water flux. Herein, we proposed the synergy of feed-side aeration and super slippery interface to perform concentrated seawater desalination via direct contact membrane distillation. The results of this study show that this synergistic effect could significantly increase the water flux, which was approximately 1.5 times higher in comparison to the membrane without aeration. Moreover, the synergistic effect effectively alleviates the complex scaling of concentrated seawater, achieving 90 wt% water recovery rate. Based on the observed results, we elucidated the mechanisms governing the enhanced water flux and scaling mitigation driven by the synergistic effect. In addition, we studied the optimal working condition for this system, unveiling that low-intensity large bubbles are more suitable as they lead to a better equilibrium between the economics and functionality of the process.